


The Cost of the Sea

by diamondgore



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Gen, Mermaids, Other, mermaid au, unfinished work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 03:10:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16526204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diamondgore/pseuds/diamondgore
Summary: A mermaid wakes Kaneki up.





	The Cost of the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> So I've had multiple drafts of this AU lying around in my documents, but I was never sure how to finish it. I wrote multiple outlines but nothing really seemed to work. 
> 
> I wanted to re-write this but I felt this was the cleanest way I could present this. If there's any interest in this AU I won't mind going at it with another shot though!

When it came to one night stands, Ken was infamous for having them. The aspect of being in a long term relationship didn’t appeal to him very much, at least not at the current moment. Later on, he could fall in love. Probably. 

Women and men that he didn’t really know usually walked in and out of his house. It was something that he was used to. What he wasn’t used was them staying over for longer than the early hours of the morning. Some girls made breakfast and left, and some men chatted for a while they changed clothes. Most things Ken didn’t mind. But he was by nature a solitary person, so for someone to stay for long was against his very being. 

But, there was, as always an exception. This exception being the person who had possibly been watching him all night long. He didn’t recognize the face, and couldn’t remember the name for the life of him, but they were very beautiful. He stared for a moment before asking for the name, he needed to actually prepare himself for this odd situation. He never forgot people’s names.

“Who are you…?” It was a tired lazy question. “I’m sorry, I’m not good with names.” He joked, rubbing chin, as if a reflex after waking up. 

The person, who was lying next to him perked up, then went blank. How odd. He quickly checks the door, to see if they had broken in. He always locked the door, and tripled checked before going to sleep. He turned tense, and the hair on his arms stood up.

They toyed with dark purple hair for a moment, wondering if they should tell who they really were. “Tsukiyama Shuu. And you?” They prop themself up on their elbow. They don’t extend a hand. 

For a moment, he decides to not answer. There’s no reason to, but against his common sense he does. “ Kaneki. Kaneki Ken. You’re in my house.” 

Shuu nodded, and then began sitting up. “ I should leave, probably! I didn’t mean to annoy you! It was nice meeting you Mr. Kaneki! I’ll see you in a while? Or maybe very later?” Shuu fumbled with the sheets. Then managed to fall out of the bed, hitting their head against the bedside table. “Ow.” 

To Kaneki, there were two things that could’ve been happening here, his psychosis- usually not this pleasant- could be coming back, or something was deeply wrong with the person he had woken up next to. He chose the latter. It made more sense, she wouldn’t be the first person who was a bit odd. 

He got up, and walked over to her. Something was brought up to his attention, Shuu was wearing his clothes, they were much too tight on them. They didn’t seem like the type of person who needed to steal to survive. Their wavy violet hair seemed well kept, clean, and trimmed ; they had on a coral bracelet and pearl earrings. The coral wasn’t the precious coral that most people used for jewelry, its color was a muted green, resembling the coral he was studying. They stared up with him with bright red eyes that were more confused than anything. They were afraid. 

“Are you running away from someone?” He asked offering them a hand. Shuu grabbed it, pull themself up, then proceeded to fall back down as if they couldn’t use their legs.

“Uh. It’s a little more complicated than running away from someone.” Shuu apprehensively responded. Shuu offered her hand again, and Ken pulled, They fell upon him.. He was strong enough to hold them up. “Would you mind directing me to a bathtub? I think people like you have them. I think I can explain things to you a bit better if you get me there.” 

There was something off about her tone, but Ken agreed. “So, a more appropriate question would be, why are you here?” 

They smiled. “Get me to the bathtub and we’ll talk.” Shuu responded, tugging at Ken’s hands. 

Shuu struggled to walk and then get into the tub, practically collapsing once there. Ken tucked their legs inside, very gently. He noticed something, they weren’t smooth, their legs had a scaly, slimy feeling to them. Ken wiped the residue off on a towel, and then reached forward to turn on the faucet. 

The paleness in Shuu’s face had worsened due to the stress of the walk. But as the water ran on top of their legs, their hair began turning teal, their red pupils faded into a blackness that had taken over their entire eye. Shuu took the top off, and leaned into the tub, drowning themself into the bath. They pushed their legs out of the tub, and they began forming a tail that was a light pink in color, as they got to the edges it deepened to a rich cherry. The tail fin fanned out at the end. They reminded him of a dragonet-- it was breathtaking. 

Ken wondered if he was dreaming. If he was still asleep. That could have happened, until he felt the sensation of wet socks, and their tail against his hand. It felt smooth, and silky. This only lasted a second before snapped out of it. 

“ So why are you here?” Ken asked carefully, stepping back to not get splashed by her. 

“I crawled in last night.” Shuu said, he could hear their voice at the back of their head, like a haunted memory. “You were asleep. But, I had known you from before, because you visited the shore a lot. You collect things, crabs, starfish, shells. I wanted to know more about you.” 

Their body emerged from the tub, with their arms covered in scaled, and with fins sticking out of them. Their chest was bare, but gills existed at the sides. He could see inside their body. How astonishing. Their neck was also covered in slits for them to breathe. Shuu was magical, and menacing, but somehow they still managed to retain a sense of royalty. 

“I used to visit the shore more often. But ever since the incident, I’ve been scared to.” Shuu turns their neck over to Ken, frowning lightly. “I do hope I haven’t bothered you. I would hate to have done that.” Shuu frowned then sank into the tub. “I had run out of energy once I arrived here. So I stayed. Who knew that walking across the sand would have exhausted me? I should be gone once I regain my strength, Mr. Kaneki. I would hate to a thorn in your hand.”  

Shuu reached out, and touched the bottom of Ken’s neck, the crimson in the center of their eye seemed to brighten- just for a moment. “Well, Mr. Kaneki?”

“No--!” Ken had been silent this entire time, partly because of shock, partly because he had nothing to say. “I would like you to stay.” A long pause followed. 

Shuu’s black eyes widened- and so did her smile, revealing the sharp teeth that were contained in her mouth. “Really? I’d hate to impose!” 

Ken could support them- maybe for a week or so, financially at least. Perhaps if they got a job, Shuu could stay longer. “Not for a long time. But enough for us to get to know each other.” 

Shuu clasped her hands and splashed Ken out of excitement, drenching him in water. He stared blankly at her for a moment before she apologized. “Sorry, Mr. Kaneki ! This is just so exciting.”  

Ken couldn’t stay for much longer considering he had to leave for work, and using a mermaid as an excuse would make him sound like a madman, it wasn’t exactly something he was aiming for. Not this early in his career anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Hmu @[diamondsynth](diamondsynth.tumblr.com)on tumblr.


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